Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Scouting
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
04 Jan 2023
🖨️ Print Article
Scouting
Boy Scouts in Arlington, Virginia in 1953 (Image: Arlington public library)

Scouting

day dreaming, dreaming, anticipating

a Hollywood Bowl where some master

painter splashed stars

all over night’s navy blue canvas…

Wow! Were we in awe? So insignificant

in the grand scheme of the

painting; its sovereign clarity—

its status; its ultimate one-upmanship?

day dreaming, dreaming, anticipating

more navy blue pants, more navy blue shirts,

caps; and gold scarves of fledgling Cub Scouts…

Our yellow bus pulled

into the lower lot among

an armada of other yellow busses

day dreaming, dreaming, anticipating

crisp practice of white handbook pages;

of memorized rules—cherished code of

Conduct—One for all/All for one ways

of being in the world…

Our yellow bus pulled

into the lower lot among

an armada of other yellow busses

day dreaming, dreaming, anticipating

tent talk; talk of knots tied with wider,

with new navy blue crew…

Our yellow bus pulled up and parked

among the armada of yellow busses—

Unloading more blue pants, blue shirts,

caps; more gold scarves… Unloading expresso,

mocha, tan, paper bag brown, cinnamon, caramel cargo…

Before—without warning—awful reign of rocks fell from

Lot above—Fell with wild, weaponized cries:

“GO HOME CHOCOLATE DROPS!!!!”

“GO HOME CHOCOLATE DROPS!!!!”

“GO HOME CHOCOLATE DROPS!!!!”



© 2023. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

Raymond Nat Turner is a NYC poet; BAR's Poet-in-Residence; and founder/co-leader of the jazz-poetry ensemble UpSurge!NYC. You can Vote for his work at: GoFundMe and PayPal.

Anti-Black Racism
Los Angeles

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


More Stories


  • Luis Britto García
    Venezuela Is Not Iran
    19 Aug 2026
    Venezuela is not Iran or Cuba, but those nations teach us that sovereignty is not given but is obtained through resistance. Venezuela must forge its own path toward sovereignty.
  • Natalia Junquera , Elena Reina
    Fergie Chambers, the Millionaire Activist Arrested in Ibiza: “I am a human rights advocate”
    19 Aug 2026
    The American's lawyers, led by Baltasar Garzón, denounce a "political persecution" by Trump for his support of Palestine. The government will have to decide whether to extradite him.
  • x
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Racist Policies End TPS and Criminalize Haitian Immigrants
    14 Aug 2026
    The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Trump administration cancellation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 350,000 Haitians in the U.S. TPS holders can no longer work legally, are…
  • x
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio August 14, 2026
    14 Aug 2026
    In this week’s segment we discuss how the U.S. controls other nations in the hemisphere such as Guyana, which become de facto US colonies and assist in imposing imperial policies in the region. But…
  • x
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Guyana and the Struggle Against U.S. Imperialism
    14 Aug 2026
    Gerald Perreira is chairperson of the Organization for the Victory of the People in Guyana. He discusses the America’s Counter-Cartel Coalition (ACCC) known as Shield of the Americas, the latest…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us